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WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

nautil.us

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Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#151

Post by low_poly_shiba »

varjag wrote: post #148
low_poly_shiba wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Americans, and people living in American colonies, also have first-hand experience with American imperialism. I'm not sure why you think your experience trounces theirs?

You sort of prove my point. And don't generalize people suffering from bouts of anti-Americanism to all Americans or all the West.

I'm not sure I understand how I "prove your point".

Why are "victims of communism" allowed to generalize from their experience, while "victims of capitalism" are not?

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#152

Post by sreekanthr »

markplindsay wrote: post #51
catherd wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cash still works exactly the way it always has, (almost) nobody is going to turn down your business because you don't pay by an app.

I was in China (Beijing and Wenzhou) in April. I had NO success finding a taxi in Beijing—the only way to get a ride was to use an app like Didi Chuxing. I was able to install and use it just fine. The problem was that it is impossible to link a non-PRC payment method to it. The same is true for WeChat Pay or Alipay—you've got to use a Chinese bank account or card as a source. I was not able to find a way around this…

I was able to book via Didi using my Singapore Card.

But then again I had a different problem because the Didi drivers will call up to confirm the booking and pickup location and I had to get help of my friends/colleagues to help me communicate with the driver.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#153

Post by ilikehurdles »

bamboozled wrote: post #63
th3iedkid wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Is it too much effort to just make your own coffee in your own apartment? Does that now also have to be delivered to you? The amount of waste involved in this just boggles my mind. Not from China but have been different phases of life where have either preferred to have early morning coffe delivered/fetched/made myself in my apartment. Different priorities would drove the choices for me. Pricing differences between…

I’m curious, do people even enjoying drinking nice / real coffee anymore when drinking from Starbucks or have it delivered and sipping it at your desk or in the elevator, or is this just some kind of habit like smoking? Why not just wash down a caffeine pill with warm glass of water for the kick and move when time pressed?

I do. Every morning I get the scale out, grind beans, and get the kettle going to prepare a couple of cups of pour-over coffee. I'm still dialing in the perfect pot of coffee, so I'll change a variable in my process each morning. If I time it right, I make my pour over in time to sit down by some natural light and remotely attend my morning meetings as I sip down my beverage. It gives me a nice break from the screen and allows me to focus on doing something highly rewarding with my hands.

As a side note, I've recently started ordering bags of beans online from various roasters I've had around the country. If anyone has recommendations that sell their beans online, I'd love to expand my palette.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#154

Post by robmccoll »

bamboozled wrote: post #63
th3iedkid wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Is it too much effort to just make your own coffee in your own apartment? Does that now also have to be delivered to you? The amount of waste involved in this just boggles my mind. Not from China but have been different phases of life where have either preferred to have early morning coffe delivered/fetched/made myself in my apartment. Different priorities would drove the choices for me. Pricing differences between…

I’m curious, do people even enjoying drinking nice / real coffee anymore when drinking from Starbucks or have it delivered and sipping it at your desk or in the elevator, or is this just some kind of habit like smoking? Why not just wash down a caffeine pill with warm glass of water for the kick and move when time pressed?

I like coffee. I like the variety of flavors and smells and the warmth and the ritual of it. I roast my own beans nearly every day. I also am addicted to caffeine. For me, there is a sliding scale of preference from my own coffee or sitting down at a good coffee shop to something quick like a Starbucks to instant coffee or caffeine pills, but pretty much no matter what I have a plan or backup plan to at least get some caffeine in the system.

That said, delivery seems a little strange to me. You don't get the little coffee break to walk to somewhere or have some involvement in making it, which seems like a downside. It also seems like a lot of overhead to obtain coffee.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#155

Post by _ui4r »

foozed wrote: post #100
NotPaidToPost wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has nothing to do with FaceID, which isn't mentioned in the article. WeChat has its own face recognition system.

Ah ok, i thought the author meant FaceID in the passage: > I have my WeChat linked with the facial recognition scanner on my iPhone was not aware that WeChat has its own system. They don't get to use the "special" FaceID sensors/scanners though right? Just the camera?

It looks like depth data can be accessed through the AVFoundation framework provided by Apple.

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/camer...

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#156

Post by mixmastamyk »

jcbrand wrote: post #19

> At 9:27, once I’ve brushed my teeth, answered a few messages, and wiped the sleep from my eyes, I order a coffee through WeChat. There’s a payments window on the app, and when you click on it you see various options, some proprietary to WeChat and some which are independent apps that run on WeChat’s platform. I open the Meituan delivery app and scroll through all the coffee options around me. I order an Americano.…

> Is it too much effort to just make your own coffee in your own apartment?

Don't even need extra equipment. Trader Joe's has a nice cold-brew. Pour a finger width into a cup, add some almond/coconut milk, then put in the microwave for ~60 seconds. Hot vitamin-c in under two minutes. No way I could wait almost thirty.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#157

Post by afjl »

ggg2 wrote: post #42
hn23 wrote: post #10

So compared to this Google looks like a mom and pop shop when it comes to data collection..but now think about the frame here. It is done in China not in the /free/ world..

yes. nobody complained when US (and everyone else later on) required online forms for visa requests. full of google Analytics tags and all.

This is not true at all. There was an incredible amount of dissatisfaction and anger about this decision. In my own household, we discussed the implications of that decision. Please read through the comments on these 2 posts:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20065142

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20075608

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#158

Post by adinobro »

La-ang wrote: post #102

what about Wechat tracking you even though when not using its features? I don't think CPC would patiently wait until you launch the app to start logging your behavior.

Why bother? They already have access to cell phone location data and meta information. I'm sure in China it is direct access. In the US it is a two-step process. Not that it would make much difference in practice.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130901/23253224379/att-h...

There was a great article in Australia about this a few years back: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-16/metadata-retention-pr...

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#159

Post by RussianCow »

amelius wrote: post #137
meddlepal wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drink Dunkin' Donuts coffee because I don't give a damn about the taste and it's cheap. I like the process of drinking coffee... it's a habit of sorts. Not so much an addiction as I have no problems going without coffee.

May I then suggest drinking water instead? It's healthier and even cheaper.

Coffee (with no milk or sugar) is actually really healthy. It has practically no calories, is high in antioxidants, and feels filling (so you might eat less and thus consume fewer calories). Studies have also linked it to higher longevity and reduced risk of heart disease, liver failure, and Alzheimer's.

It's when you get a grande vanilla latte from Starbucks that you load up on milk, sugar, and caffeine.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#160

Post by sreekanthr »

ConfusedDog wrote: post #47

> If it wasn’t for the fact that I grew up in London and use a VPN to jump the great firewall to keep in touch with my friends at home and use Google, I could go entire days without leaving WeChat. I wonder what VPN people use in China to access Google. When I was there last month, I couldn't find a single one that worked for more than a few days.

Express VPN work.

Most of Tech Organizations have deal with Govt to allow them to access google & gmail.

Best bet is to get International data roaming then use your phone to check email etc. If you are transiting via Singapore would recommend you to get a Singapore sim which supports international data roaming and using it in China.

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